A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR!

Dame Julie Andrews is delighting audiences once again as Bridger ton’s decidedly mischievous narrator…

Dear reader, if you haven’t watched Bridger ton as yet then please do make haste and rectify this highly undesirable situation at once.

Viewed by 63 million households in its first four weeks, the newest period drama is a massive Netflix hit. The show is based on the book series by Julia Quinn and is narrated by the inimitable Lady Whistledown, a mysterious figure and author of a regular gossip sheet, which is pored over by members of London’s prestigious high society.

The series follows the stor y of the eight Bridger ton siblings and the scandals and strife they face as they navigate the debutante season, but it is Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julie Andrews, who takes centre stage and provides a fun “whodunnit” twist as viewers and characters alike tr y to guess who could be behind the scandalous gossip sheet.

It’s an enter taining watch with exquisite costumes and an extravagant cast, as you would expect from a great period drama. There are also a few rather raunchy scenes and a generous sprinkling of scandal throughout – a far cr y from Julie’s more modest per formances as Maria in the beloved musical, The Sound of Music, or as the truly scrumptious Mary Poppins.

As Julie speaks the opening lines of Bridger ton’s first episode, you are instantly comfor ted by a familiar voice from childhood and yet delightfully surprised and intrigued to hear her scandalous and conversational tone.

Amusingly, Dame Julie described her Lady

Whistledown character as “a tar tar, and a bit of a naughty woman” and “a mysterious and rather sharp-tongued gossip writer of the day”. It would be fair to say that

Julie’s saucy Lady W is cer tainly a stark contrast to her past roles and yet she is still immediately recognisable.

It’s a winning combination that thrills new and old audiences alike, but this isn’t the first time Dame Julie has worked her magic to enthral a new generation. She became a cult favourite as Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries series, in which she starred alongside Anne Hathaway. The films are often fondly quoted, and live on in memes and the memories of millennials.

That’s the beauty of Julie

– she can re-imagine and modernise herself to bring her talents to a whole new audience. Her varied characters have become childhood favourites of so many, across all ages, and Lady Whistledown is the latest addition to a much-loved line-up. Viewers have already taken the character to hear t and there’s a huge demand for more seasons. In fact, if

That’s the beauty of Julie – she can re-imagine and modernise herself

the modern-day equivalent of Lady W’s Georgian gossip sheets is to be believed, Dame Julie Andrews was repor tedly paid an impressive six-figure sum to play the par t and it’s eagerly expected that she will resume her role for season two and beyond.

We, for one, can’t wait to see what she’ll get up to next, dear reader!